Frequestly Asked Questions
Introduction
Please read carefully the terms of use of the site advokat-chukovska.eu (hereinafter referred to as “the Site”) because they contain information which is important for you as users of the electronic service. The terms of use aim at defining the conditions in which Atty. Susan Chukovska (hereinafter referred to as “Operator of the Site” or just “Operator”) provides at your disposal the Site, the ways in which you have access to it, as well as the confidentiality terms, i.e. for protection of your personal data. EVERY ACCESS TO THE SITE BINDS THE USERS BY THE CURRENT TERMS OF USE which the Operator of the Site reserves the right to change and update at any time, if necessary. ACCESS TO THE SITE ALSO IMPLIES CONSENT REGARDING THE PRACTICES OF THE OPERATOR IN THE AREA OF PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION. If you do not agree with some of the conditions described in the current statement, we do not recommend you to use the Site.
If you have any questions on the terms of use, on the ways in which your personal data is processed, as well as on any relevant issues, you may contact the Operator at any time using the provided methods of contact.
Operator of the Site
Operator of the Site is Atty. Susan Chukovska, member of the Sofia City Bar Association, personal attorney number: 4400186910.
(More information on all attorneys at law in Bulgaria is available at the web site on Bulgarian Bar Registers maintained by the Supreme Bar Council of the Republic of Bulgaria: https://bar-register.com/)
phone: +359 899 81 33 67
e-mail: attorneyatlaw_sofia@abv.bg
facebook: Attorney-at-law Susan Chukovska
linkedin: susan chukovska
Characteristics of the Site
The aim of the Site is to inform on the professional activity of Atty. Susan Chukovska as long as this does not contradicts the legislation of the Republic of Bulgaria, incl. the Bulgarian Bar Act and the Code of the Attorney’s Ethics.
The Site contains information on the services provided by Atty. Susan Chukovska, author articles and media, as well as replies to frequently asked questions.
The Site gives opportunity for contact with Atty. Chukovska, incl. through a contact form. This contact form provides correspondence option with Atty. Chukovska on themes of users’ choice, e.g. acquaintance with concrete legal issue of the user and contact in this regard aimed at prior coordination of eventual engagement of the attorney. The subsequent correspondence shall be realized by email or by the use of the other listed ways to contact Atty. Chukovska.
Access to the Site
The Operator provides the service of the Site with free access of the users, keeps the Site accessible, but does not bear any responsibility in cases of technical failure. For the purposes of maintenance and possible future updates, as well as in cases of eventual problems of technical or other essence, the access to the Site may be suspended or limited. The Operator does not bear any responsibility in any such cases, incl. for any negative consequences that may occur at the expense of the users.
The users undertake not to use the Site in any inappropriate way and not to abuse the contact form provided with the Site aiming at free legal consultation. Such free consultation is not legal and may be provided only in the terms and order of Art. 38 of the Bulgarian Bar Act. The Operator reserves the right not to respond to any incomplete, unclear or disrespectful messages from the users.
Responsibility
Under no circumstances the Operator of the Site or other persons participating in its creation/maintenance do not bear responsibility for any kind of damages (incl., but not only, any direct, indirect, accidental, damages from loss of profit, damages from loss of information, discontinuation of activity, etc.), connected with or incurred as a result of the use of the Site, the impossibility to use it or the lack of access to it or of any material published on it.
The publications (author articles) should not be perceived as concrete legal advice and no actions should be taken only based on them but simply express the author’s opinion as well as reflect the legislation at the time of their publishing. For providing precise directions consistent with the specifics of a given case, a consultation is carried out in the required order.
Use of the Content of the Site; link to other sites
The Site contains materials with text, images, video and other media protected by the author law and/or other rights over the intellectual property. The Operator owns all author rights or other rights over the intellectual property or the owner of these rights allows their use for the purposes of the Site.
Use of content without active link to the source or prior consent of the author, i.e. the Operator of the Site, is forbidden.
The Site may contain links to web sites owned by third parties. The Operator does not bear responsibility for the owners or operators of these sites or services provided by them as well as for their content.
The Site may contain materials with text, images, video and other media owned by third parties. The Operator does not bear responsibility for the owners or security of these materials as well as for their content.
Confidentiality/Personal Data Protection
The Operator takes all necessary measures for protection of personal data in accordance with the requirements of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation; OJ L 119/1, 4.5.2016; the so-called GDPR) and the other enforceable acts of the EU and the Republic of Bulgaria (incl. The Law of Personal Data Protection which governs the social relations in connection with the protection of natural persons with regard to processing of personal data, as long as they are not regulated by the GDPR).
The Operator is administrator of personal data and guarantees the privacy of all personal data, incl., but not only, the name of the user and/or email address. They shall be used only for the purposes for which they were collected and shall not be provided to any third parties.
Personal data shall not be used with any other purpose without the prior written consent of the user who provided it except for cases required by law.
The Operator does not bear responsibility for personal identity data disclosed by the user to other web sites accessed through the links to them placed in this Site.
The information provided by the user when accessing the Site is used for answering the sent requests, accepting applications, improvement of the Site, contact with the users, information purposes, etc. During the visit at the Site, the Operator receives information on the number of users, their IP address location, date of visit and other data, which could be used for the purposes of internal statistics and system administration.
• Law is often complicated.
• An attorney may present your strongest case knowing the legal procedure, e.g. how to challenge evidence.
• An attorney may choose the most appropriate evidence, witnesses and experts you will need on your side.
• Almost everyone agrees that you should seek for a lawyer in case of major life events such as: arrest for a crime; involvement in accidents causing bodily injury or property damage; change in family status such as divorce or death; business deal, etc.
• The other party probably has legal representation.
• An attorney will improve your odds of winning because he/she can quickly review your case, guide your steps accordingly, answer your questions and deliver the best possible solutions!
The use of the services of an attorney is not a luxury or caprice but a NECESSITY IN SEVERAL CASES. Although many would say that this is recommendable, it is often more than this. The choice to defend yourself, having no legal education and qualification, could result in a serious risk of irremediable consequences. An untimely (late) presentation of facts, arguments and statements in a lawsuit, respectively challenging ones, requesting conduct of forensic examinations, interrorgating witnesses, etc., would trigger inability to adequately defend YOUR interest!
The attorney remuneration is determined by the following criteria:
- Factual and legal complexity of the concrete case according to the legal essence and the volume of the entitled work;
- The time spent by the attorney in the initial examination of the materials available on the case, both in different institutions and various registers /real estate register, company register, etc./;
- Material interest /e.g. tax assessment in case of drafting contract for real estate transfer/;
- When legal representation is needed the number of the open court hearings is also important;
- In some cases the attorney has to pay visits to different institutions and collect documentation;
- Another essential aspect is the stage from which the attorney accepts the entitled work because generally, passing from one instance to another, the legal tools for defence become more limited which is particularly valid in the civil procedure in terms of the time bar.
The minimum remunerations mandatory for attorneys in Bulgaria are the ones governed by Regulation no. 1 from 09.07.2004 on the minimum amount of attorney fees issued by the Bulgarian Supreme Bar Council.
For contact with attorney Susan Chukovska please use the CONTACT FORM at the end of the home page.
You can also contact Atty. Chukovska by
phone: +359 899 81 33 67,
as well as by e-mail: attorneyatlaw_sofia@abv.bg
According to Art. 2 of the Bulgarian Law on mediation MEDIATION is a voluntary and confidential procedure for out-of-court resolution of disputes, whereby a third party mediator assists the disputants in reaching a settlement.
The characteristics of mediation are the following:
- out-of-court;
- voluntary;
- informal;
- confidential;
- non-binding;
- often regarded as process of assisted negotiations;
- alternative to the formal and often expensive court procedure.
The role of the mediator is to assist communication and help negotiations reach mutually beneficial agreement.
More on the essence of mediation could be found in the material posted in “Author Articles and Media” (available in Bulgarian only).
Atty. Susan Chukovska is registered and certified mediator at the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Bulgaria.
Often cases involve many aspects of factual and legal complexity. The cases in which given dispute concerns only one area of law are rare. Attorneys can interpret the available regulations in different way based on their own experience and view on the possible solutions.
This is a very subjective question. Solution of legal proceedings in Bulgaria depends on the competent court and the workload of the panel of judges hearing them. The duration of any lawsuit depends above all on the factual and legal complexity of the case.
Bulgaria has three-instance judicial system (first instance, district/appeal and Supreme Court of Cassation). Most lawsuits receive final decision by a district/appeal court.
Please note the official statistics of the Bulgarian Supreme Judicial Council (http://www.vss.justice.bg/) – in 2019 and 2020, 82% of the lawsuits in Bulgaria are solved by the appeal, military, district, regional and administrative courts within 3 months. In 2018, this percentage is 83%.
Information which may be interesting for you!
* What is the difference between lawyer and attorney?
Often the terms “lawyer” and “attorney” (abbr. from “attorney-at-law”) are considered to be synonyms. However, there is significant difference in their practical meaning. In fact, an attorney is a lawyer but a lawyer is not necessarily an attorney.
A lawyer refers to a person who has a law degree, i.e. even a law student can be called a lawyer. There are many types of lawyers including advocates, solicitors, attorneys, etc.
On the other hand, an “attorney” is said to be a lawyer who has covered the legal requirements (e.g. passed the bar exam) and has been approved to practice law in his jurisdiction.
Nevertheless, in Bulgaria you may often find the majority of people use the terms “lawyer” and even “solicitor” meaning “attorney”.
** Who can become attorney/lawyer in Bulgaria?
If a person wants to become an attorney in Bulgaria, he/she must complete a 5-year university degree, pass all his/her state exams, one additional exam for legal competency before the Ministry of Justice as well as a special bar exam before the Supreme Bar Council of Bulgaria.
The status, rights and obligations of attorneys are governed by the Bulgarian Bar Act. Attorneys in Bulgaria can be only individuals who have taken an appropriate oath and are entered in the register of a bar association. Each judicial district of a provincial court has a bar association subordinate to the Supreme Bar Council (whose seat is in Sofia city).
More information on legal professions in Bulgaria may be found at the official web site of the EU (https://e-justice.europa.eu/).
